


Not a Lucky Man

by LemonBubble



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Earl POV, Fluff and Angst, M/M, minor spoilers for episodes 16 and 23, occasional mentions of Carlos, starts with fluff ends with sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-26
Updated: 2013-12-26
Packaged: 2018-01-06 05:41:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1103070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LemonBubble/pseuds/LemonBubble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some days, Earl could almost convince himself he was a lucky man. Days like today, when he got to wake up to the sight of his favourite person peacefully asleep next to him. Cecil always looked so much younger when he was asleep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not a Lucky Man

**Author's Note:**

> A fill for [this prompt](http://nightvalecommunitykink.dreamwidth.org/822.html?thread=665654#cmt665654). It's also posted over there, but I decided to put it here too because it ended up pretty long and also not terrible.

Earl Harlan was not a lucky man.

Some days he could almost convince himself he was a lucky man. Days like today, when he got to wake up to the sight of his favourite person peacefully asleep next to him. Cecil always looked so much younger when he was asleep, all the worries of the world turned from harsh realities to mere nightmares. The sun poured in the window behind him, making it look like he was glowing. Or maybe he was literally glowing. Earl wasn’t sure and it was rude to ask about that kind of thing, even if they had been dating for over six months now. They didn’t actually live together ( _yet_ , Earl thought hopefully), but they had stayed at each other’s apartments often enough to know each other’s morning routines. Cecil was not a morning person, so Earl didn’t wake him yet, instead just watching happily for a few minutes before getting up.

One long shower later, while he was making coffee, warm, familiar arms wrapped around him from behind and warm, familiar lips kissed his cheek.

“Morning.” Cecil mumbled in a sleepy, but still warm and familiar voice. Earl turned around in his embrace and kissed him back.

“Good morning, sleepy. Coffee?” He asked with a grin.

“Mmh.” Cecil nodded, resting his head on Earl’s shoulder. His eyes were closed. Earl let him stay for a moment before nudging him off.

“Come on, Ceec, if you fall asleep on me we’ll never get anything done.”

“Sounds nice.” Cecil mumbled, but he moved off to make some breakfast while Earl handled the coffee. He always made the coffee because he was better at dealing with it when the machine decided to dispense worms instead of caffeine, which happened a little too often for his liking. He probably needed a new coffee maker.

The two men shared breakfast quietly. Earl enjoyed these mornings together, before the chaos of the day started. They didn’t get to see each other much during the day, or even in the evenings because they were both busy men and Cecil’s show tended to run late. So Earl savoured every quiet moment they got to spend in each other’s company.

Breakfast was over all too soon. Cecil had to leave for the station (Earl had heard his phone go off five times already, so there was probably some big news) and Earl had plenty of work to get done. They kissed outside his apartment and went their separate ways for the day.

-

That evening, Earl got home and flopped into his chair. After a minute he flopped back out of his chair and dragged himself to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, because flopping into a chair without a hot drink just doesn’t feel right. It had been a long and particularly difficult day and he just needed to sit back and relax in his comfortable chair with the soothing warmth of a hot mug between his hands. And, of course - Earl glanced at the clock and turned his radio on

_“A friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep.”_

\- the familiar tones of his boyfriend oozing out of the radio. Earl sighed contentedly, only half listening to the actual words Cecil was saying, mostly just letting his smooth voice wash away the day’s troubles. He started paying attention at the mention of some “perfect and beautiful” scientist. Earl wasn’t the jealous type, but Cecil seemed pretty fond of this newcomer. It was probably nothing.

_“He grinned and everything about him was perfect. And I fell in love instantly.”_

Earl nearly choked on his drink.

_What?_

-

It was during the weather when Earl got a text.

_i think we shud c other ppl_

He decided that maybe this is one of those jokes Cecil likes to make, the ones he doesn’t understand most of the time.

_Haha? I don’t get it._

_not a joke, brking up w/u_

Earl stared at the phone, refusing to believe that he was getting text dumped like a teenager.

_Are you seriously text dumping me?_

_i wud do it in persn but im at wrk._

_But why?_

He already knew why, he had been listening to the show, but there was some part of Earl that couldn’t believe Cecil would really just… abandon him for some guy he had just met. Assuming they even _had_ met. He doesn’t get a reply and it’s a few minutes before he notices that the weather had ended and Cecil was talking again. So casually, so easily, as if he hadn’t just ended a moderately serious relationship. Over _texts_.

_“Settling in to be another clear night and pretty evening here in Night Vale. I hope all of you out there have someone to sleep through it with. Or, at least, good memories of when you did.”_

Earl glared at his radio. Was that directed at him? Was it supposed to be _comforting_ somehow? “Hey, I know I just broke up with you over a guy I know nothing about, but you can always remember our time together fondly, right?” Yeah. Right. Earl waited a few minutes after the sign off before he called Cecil.

“Cecil are you serious right now?” He asked when the phone was answered, skipping the hellos.

“I’m serious about a lot of things, you’re going to have to be more specific.” Cecil sounded so… casual, almost disinterested.

“You _know_ what I’m talking about. Are you… are you _really_ breaking up with me because of some guy you don’t even know?!”

“Now hold on, let’s not start assuming. His name is Carlos and he’s a scientist and he’s absolutely perfect, how can you say I don’t know him when I know all that?”

“Cecil you met him for two minutes at a town meeting.”

“ _And_ he came to the studio for at least another two minutes.”

“So you haven’t even known him for five minutes!” Earl argued, exasperated. “And you keep calling him perfect! What if it’s just a glamour?”

“Oh puh- _leese_ , you and I both know that I passed level 5 illusion detection with an A+ in high school. I know a glamour when I see one and I can tell you that Carlos is just naturally perfect.”

“How do you know this isn’t just… some meaningless crush that will pass in a few weeks?” Earl was almost pleading now, trying to find some way to convince Cecil that this was just ridiculous. “What if he leaves or something happens to him? You know how long most outsiders survive here. What about… Cecil, what about me?” His voice cracked on the last question, giving away that this did actually hurt, a lot.

The phone was silent for so long that Earl didn’t think Cecil was going to reply. Then there was a long sigh.

“Look, Earl, I like you, I really do. You’re a great guy, but I want to give it a try with Carlos.” There was a pause. Earl didn’t say anything because he didn’t trust his voice not to break again. “Look, I’ll give it some time, maybe a month or two, before I try anything okay? I mean, I don’t want to look trashy by jumping straight into a new relationship or anything.”

“It’s still over between us, isn’t it?” Earl asked, his voice low and flat. He already knew the answer.

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Cecil.” He said with a sigh, and ended the call. Just that morning he had been thinking of how lucky he was to have Cecil, entertaining thoughts of them moving in together. Maybe that was why it ended so suddenly. After all, Earl Harlan was not a lucky man. Thinking otherwise was just tempting fate.

-

Earl still texted Cecil a lot over the next few months. Not every day like he used to, but still a lot. He hadn’t really accepted that Cecil had broken up with him yet, and he lived every day feeling like maybe, if he said or did the right thing, then Cecil would come back to him. Or maybe if he just waited long enough, Cecil’s infatuation with Carlos would fade and then Cecil would come back to him. Earl hoped a lot of things that ended with “then Cecil would come back to him”. He had tried pointing out that so far Carlos hardly seemed to know Cecil existed, suggested that maybe it would be easier to just let it go, all sorts of things, but Cecil refused to change his mind on the “fell in love instantly” issue.

As for Carlos, well. Earl had tried very hard to hate Carlos. He wanted to blame Carlos for taking Cecil away from him, but he couldn’t. He actually blamed himself, and maybe fate. Earl just wasn’t the kind of guy who was able to keep a long term partner. Besides, Earl would begrudgingly admit that Carlos was actually a pretty nice guy. In fact he was exactly the kind of guy who was impossible to hate. At first Earl had tried just avoiding him, but that was damn near impossible too. It was incredible just how much Carlos seemed to be… well, everywhere. One time he ran into the clock tower, literally, knocking himself down when Earl was the only person around. Earl had spent the next half hour explaining the whole invisible-and-constantly-teleporting thing, even offering to show Carlos how to tell where the clock tower was (thank you Invisible Object Detection badge), just because the poor guy had seemed so genuinely confused. It was as if he’d never encountered basic architecture before.

So when it came down to it, Earl just couldn’t find it in himself to blame Carlos for Cecil’s betrayal. He could see that Carlos was, to be blunt, simply better than him. Instead, Earl blamed himself - for not being good enough, and for daring to hope that maybe being himself would be enough for once. It never had been before, why should this time have been any different?

-

One time he got Cecil to agree to a lunch date. Just as friends, because they hadn’t seen each other for a while. Of course, the subject of Carlos inevitably came up and… it didn’t end too well.

“So… you’re still waiting for Carlos, huh?”

“Of course! He’s taking his time, but I’m sure he likes me, and it won’t be long before he realises just how much. And then everything will be perfect.”

“Cecil…” Earl said gently, choosing his words carefully. “It’s been almost nine months since he came to town and so far all you’ve gotten from him is a professional phone call. Don’t you think that… maybe he’s just not interested?”

Cecil practically chokes on his drink, as if Earl has said something completely ridiculous. “Were you paying attention at all? Didn’t you hear the voicemails? Carlos was afraid and the first person he called was me. That’s _got_ to mean something, right?”

“Well… it could have just been because you were the last person he called, so he hit redial.” Earl tried.

“Oh come _on_ , Earl, you’re being ridiculous. Why are you trying so hard to find reasons to make me give up on Carlos?” Cecil glared at Earl for a moment before understanding dawned on his face. “Ohhhh, I see how it is. You’re jealous.”

“What!? No! That’s… I’m not…” Earl tried to deny it, but the habits learned earning the Chronic Honesty badge were hard to break. “Ok, maybe I am a bit jealous! I mean, we were dating for months and it was all going so well and then you just… _abandoned_ me for this guy you didn’t even know! You still hardly know him!”

“I thought we were over that.” Cecil said, sounding a little surprised.

“Maybe you are, but I…” He sighed. “I still think we could have something, Cecil. You and me. If you just gave me another chance?”

Cecil sighed. “I don’t think so, Earl.” He said it like it was obvious, of course there was no way they were getting back together. There never had been a chance. Why even ask? Earl didn’t say anything, just stared down at his plate. Cecil finished his drink and left with a muttered “See you ‘round.”

He didn’t though. Earl didn’t see, talk to, or even text Cecil after that - except on official scout business, which there wasn’t a lot of. In fact, there was almost none until the Eternal Scout ceremony was announced.

-

Earl had done a lot of research when it came to preparing the ceremony. Everything had to be perfect. As it was, he knew the most about how the ceremony worked, although even he wasn’t sure how it would end. One thing he was absolutely certain of though - there was no coming back from the tent over the hole in the vacant lot out back of the Ralph’s. And there was a good chance he was going to end up inside that tent himself.

Earl woke up on the day of the ceremony, alone (though he was used to that now), afraid, and with a great sense of resignation. There was pride in there too. He was truly proud of his boys for making it this far. They were the first to achieve the rank of Eternal Scout. Frankie and Barty were good kids and they had done so well, they deserved this honour. Whatever it was, exactly. So, yes, he was proud, and he was also terrified, and he lay in bed feeling conflicted, wondering if maybe there was some way he could hide, survive the day. But he had a duty to his boys and to the town and, in the end, that was what got Earl out of bed.

His phone buzzed.

_eternal scout thing today? can i get an interview?_

Of course, it would be Cecil. Still, Earl was pretty sure he was going to die today (or maybe just stop existing, which sounded easier) and with that in mind he felt kind of invincible. So he texted back;

_Sure, I’ll come to station, do it in person._

Not just yet, of course. There was some set up to be done first, like putting up the tent over the hole, preparing the sacrifices (they had to be _very_ fresh), and warning everyone about what was happening. In an hour or two he would go to the station and talk to Cecil for the last time. Then he would tell him everything; all the things he should have said when they were still together, all the things he still felt. Everything.

-

By the time Earl got to the station, he had had time to think about what he was going to say. It was all there, laid out in his mind, both the professional answers for the interview and his… personal statement. He had put off going to the station for longer than he should have and now there wasn’t much time left before the ceremony started. He needed to be back at the vacant lot by then, but there was still time to tell Cecil what he needed to. There was probably even time for an interview question too.

An intern directed Earl to a chair, where he sat and waited impatiently, tapping his fingers on his knee and glancing at the unreliable clock far too often. The few minutes before Cecil came to see him were a small, unbearable eternity, but at last the studio door opened.

“Cecil.” Earl said, standing up as Cecil walked over. He looked up from the notebook in his hand.

“Earl. Hi.” Cecil started, flashing one of his fantastic smiles.

“Hi.” Earl said, barely managing a smile back. “I uh… I left coming here a little late and I have to get back soon. Um. Probably only time for one question really.” _Damn_ he was fumbling his words already. This was going to be harder than he expected.

“Oh yeah, sure, that’s fine.” Cecil said with a shrug, looking back down at his list of questions. They were carefully painted in green food colouring, Earl noticed, just like always. “I guess the most important thing here is how does it feel to be the first Scout troop to achieve this rank?”

“I’m proud to be the first Scout troop to achieve this rank. Though, uh, I’m also terrified to be the first Scout troop to achieve this rank. The two emotions are mixing inside my body and it’s confusing.” Well… that wasn’t exactly what he meant to say. “It’s confusing.” Earl hesitated. His mind was blank, his carefully planned speech completely gone. All he could think was how soon the ceremony was starting, how little time there was left. He opened and closed his mouth several times but the words refused to come out. _Come on, Earl, say something! Anything!_

“I… y- we could have had something, Cecil.” He said eventually, taking hold of Cecil’s arm. One last touch before he had to go. Not as intimate as he had hoped for, but still better than nothing. “Always remember that.”

When did things get so difficult between them? A few months ago he would have had no trouble telling Cecil everything. The words used to come so easily but now… Now, here he was, a stuttering mess who could barely admit he was still in love. Cecil looked like he was about to say something, but Earl didn’t particularly want to hear it. It could be sympathetic. It could be apathetic. It could make things more awkward or less, but he didn’t have time to listen. Instead, he hung his head and left the radio station.

As Earl headed for the vacant lot out back of the Ralph’s he thought about how typical it was that he would mess up his last few moments with Cecil. As the ceremony began he wondered how things could have gone differently. As the mute children poured out from the tent he questioned why he ever thought he had had a chance with Cecil.

After all, Earl Harlan was not a lucky man.

**Author's Note:**

> One other thing, this was mostly written before episode 36, and after that bit about Cecil and Earl being best friends in scouts, I'm fairly sure they never dated and Earl had an unrequited crush. But also, this is a prompt fill and not even my headcanon anyway, so whatevs.


End file.
